Five seconds to kick a field goal, five seconds to shoot a 3-pointer, five seconds to slapshot the puck into the net. Five seconds to win.

That’s all the time you have to convince your prospect that your landing page is worth their time before they bounce back to the SERP and try again elsewhere. Five seconds doesn’t seem like much, but you can do a lot in that short amount of time with the right format, the right approach, and the right optimization. Below is a list of three winning PPC landing page strategies sure to score you conversions and net quality leads.

1. Don’t Crowd Your Content
It may seem like a good idea to load your page with as many CTAs as you can. Whether you’re catering to different audiences or promoting multiple products, this practice will result in higher bounce rates.

Why? Because it’s confusing, and frustrating, for prospects to have to sift through several CTAs, multiple offers, and a bunch of targeted copy that doesn’t apply to them to figure out how to get what they want. Streamline your landing page to have one CTA for one product.

This also applies to your content. Tell your prospects what they need to know without all the fluff. Directness is the key to conversion when your prospects need to be able to glean what they need from a quick skim.

Pro Tip: Keep your CTA instructions clear and concise. People don’t want to have to think about how to get the information they’re looking for. Make it easy.

2. Follow the Goldilocks Rule for Lead Information Collection

Another seemingly useful play for getting quality leads is to ask for as much information as possible in your lead capture form. This way, you know exactly who your prospect is and why they need your product. But having an unnecessary number of fields is an excellent way to lose prospects instead of gaining leads.

On the other hand, having a generic email capture with no name and no anti-bot measures is a one-way ticket to a pile of spam. The key is to ask for no more information than you need to move to the next step of your sales funnel, and no less. Like Goldilocks, you have to find the balance that’s just right. Usually, first name, last name, and email are all you need.

Pro Tip: Captchas can actually hurt your conversion rate, and reCaptchas are essentially useless against bots. Honeypots are a great, and easy, way to keep real humans filling out your forms while keeping bots away.

3. Build Trust to Reassure Prospects
While keeping your copy concise is important, it’s also crucial to explain how beneficial your product is. Earning your skeptical prospects’ trust is a big part of that. And prospects trust your customers more than they trust you.

It’s simple: the core of sales is to pitch your solution as the solution. Consumers know this, and they also know that sometimes, it just isn’t true. But seeing someone who used your product, who has no ulterior motive for praising your product, say that it’s the solution reassures your savvy prospects and makes them feel like they can trust you.

Find a place on your page to display your testimonials and recognizable customer logos where your prospects are bound to see them. Having endorsements from everyday users is awesome. Having endorsements from household names is even better. Ditto for stats and other “hard evidence” that your product is as great as you make it out to be.

Creating super-converting PPC landing pages is as simple as following the playbook. There’s a formula – a pattern to follow, and while your product may be a game-changer, the tips I mentioned above hold true. So, remember that the buzzer sounds in just five seconds after your prospect clicks on your ad, and make your PPC landing page a by-the-book winner every time.

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About the Author

Hi, I’m Randi Sherman, owner of the Social Calling. While I originally started in social media (hence the name), my key competencies are in the areas of project management, editing, and finding exceptionally talented writers to be part of my team. One of my most notable accomplishments was shared with my trusted writing partner when our content resulted in closing a $50,000 sale for our client.
When I’m not immersed in helping business owners improve their website conversions, I spend time with my family and furry friends.